Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week for games of May 13-18

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, May 19, 2019 | 10:59 PM

The Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week is Our Lady of the Sacred Heart senior Jeff Zick, who threw a three-hit shutout in the Chargers’ WPIAL Class 2A first-round victory over Riverside.

No. 5 OLSH next faces No. 4 Seton LaSalle on Monday in the quarterfinals.

“Seton LaSalle is a very talented team,” OLSH coach Phil McCarren said. “I got to see them play one time this year and came away impressed. We will definitely have our hands full on Monday.”

The Chargers not only relied on Zick’s arm in the team’s 5-0 win over Riverside but his bat, as well.

“His offensive production has been excellent,” McCarren said. “He is batting well over .400 with 11 doubles and two home runs. He not only has great numbers but has delivered many time hits as well.”

Among his big hits was a three-run homer against the Panthers on Thursday.

The senior right hander also has been dominant on the mound. Zick is 6-2 with a 0.85 ERA.

“Jeff has had excellent command of all of his pitches,” McCarren said.

Against Riverside, Zick struck out 10 and walked four.

“What stood out to me was his focus, his mental approach,” McCarren said. “Jeff was definitely mentally prepared and dialed in all afternoon.”

As the Chargers move forward in the hopes of winning their first district baseball title, McCarren said Zick had high expectations coming into his senior year, and he has met those.

“He has all the tools to be an outstanding baseball player. I saw that when he was a freshman and knew then with proper development, he would become an excellent top-of-the-rotation pitcher and very good hitter when he became an upperclassman.”

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Honorable mention

Ritchie Dell, South Fayette

Senior Ritchie Dell was the winning pitcher in the Lions’ championship victory over Ringgold in the 2018 Class 4A finals. He also got the ball rolling for South Fayette in this season’s Class 5A playoffs. Dell was the winning pitcher and struck out 11 in a 5-4 victory over Montour on Thursday.

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Cre Calabria, Shenango

Sophomore Cre Calabria batted over .400 in the regular season. In the postseason, he is at 1.000. Calabria was 4 for 4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs as top-seeded Shenango rolled past Brentwood, 10-0, in six innings in Class 2A.

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Dom Fellowes, St. Joseph

Junior Dom Fellowes enjoyed a big game in a historic victory for St. Joseph. He went 3 for 5 with a run scored as the Spartans beat Monessen, 10-1, on Wednesday. It was the first playoff win for the baseball program since 2000.

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Previous Trib HSSN Baseball Players of the Week:

Joe Olsavsky, Central Catholic

Jake McGovern, Hopewell

Jacob Schmidt, Elizabeth Forward

Christian Johnson, Quaker Valley

John Malagise, Blackhawk

Casey Marshalwitz, Hampton

Jimmy Sadler, Chartiers-Houston

This Week’s Trib HSSN Team of the Week: Waynesburg